1. Tell me about a time when you built a territory from scratch for a company with little or no name recognition…

This will tell you a lot about the sales person’s resourcefulness, behavioral style, and ability to prospect. A strong sales professional can articulate exactly how he did it and has the numbers and timelines to back it up.

Simply put, prospecting is easier when working for a company with high name recognition such as Dell or Microsoft. Often the name alone of a well-branded company is enough to induce a prospect to say yes to a meeting, and the sales professional who has sold only for such companies may not be able to make the leap and hunt effectively for a small- to medium- sized company. The sales person who can build enough rapport, generate interest, and employ multiple prospecting strategies without the benefit of a strong brand has the skill set, scrappiness and tenacity that are found in top sales professionals. These characteristics will transcend a lack of industry experience and will serve him well in almost any sales position.

2. Could you break down the percentages of your sales last year that were from existing accounts vs. new accounts?

Without a doubt, the ability to hunt effectively and consistently is the number one requirement for most companies. It is also an elusive quality, and impressive revenue numbers on a resume are not enough to convince me that the candidate can do the job. Determining whether the numbers that I see on a resume are from existing accounts or new accounts, tells me how this candidate spends most of his time. Account management activities are quite different from hunting activities and big numbers don’t always translate into fierce hunting. When hiring, employers must be clear on whether account management or new account acquisition is the primary job objective and screen accordingly.

3. In your industry, how often is it necessary to negotiate pricing to win a deal?

The wording of the question is critical. When asking this question, referencing the industry standard will likely get a more candid answer. If the question is asked, “How often do you have to negotiate pricing to win a deal?” a sales pro is smart enough to give you the answer you want to hear, instead of one that reflects reality. When the answer is 20% or greater, either the professional regularly has to work with purchasing/procurement departments or simply does not know how to sell value. The latter is of great concern. Top sales professionals know how to create unique value during the sale that differentiates them and their companies from competitors. Less skilled sales people who can’t create unique value are defenseless against money objections and must rely on one thing to close deals – price. Another possibility is that the sales person doesn’t know how to effectively discuss money with the prospect during the sales conversation. When money isn’t discussed until the proposal is presented, the buyer often asks for a discount, and the unskilled sales person caves in.

4. If you were to get this opportunity, what would be your activity plan to ramp up sales in the first 60-90 days?

This question will reveal what prospecting strategies a sales person uses most often as well as how seasoned he is. The prospecting plan should have multiple activities with clear metrics. It isn’t unusual for this question to be followed with a momentary, stunned silence. If the candidate is a brand new college grad, such a response is understandable, and you may be willing to mentor and develop the candidate if your company has a strong on-boarding process.

Otherwise, pass on the candidate. Beyond the silence, candidates will often answer the question with “I would call my existing relationships and attend networking and association events.” This answer also gives me concern. This is not enough activity to predict success.

Excellent sales professionals can tell you in great detail what they’ve done in the past and articulate a decent plan of attack.

5. Tell me about the one that got away…

This provides volumes of information about a candidate. I want the candidate to tell me in rich detail about the opportunity that he worked on diligently, was certain would close, and then didn’t. Good candidates become very animated, usually telling the story with a mixture of humor, bewilderment and pain. They will describe in detail their sales process (which is good information in itself) and you get insights into their story telling ability, sense of humor, competitiveness and resilience. At the conclusion of the story, always ask, “In hindsight, is there anything you could have done differently?” Good candidates will have an answer with one or two possibilities because they have already mentally debriefed it. They will also take responsibility for any failings on their part. Poor candidates will say “There is nothing I could have done differently.” Sometimes they will blame the prospect. This raises red flags about self-responsibility, willingness to admit mistakes, and ability to learn.

In today’s economy there is a lot of available talent. Yet it seems to be getting harder and harder to find good salespeople. When screening sales candidates there are a couple of things you can to do to ensure that you hire the right person.

Utilize an initial phone interview to determine if the candidate can build rapport over the phone. If the answer is no, there is no reason to go forward with a face-to-face interview. During the initial phone interview, c lose the interview by thanking the candidate for his time and intentionally avoid providing clear next steps about the rest of the selection process. If the candidate does not close you for next steps and a clear time frame, you should eliminate the candidate immediately. This tells everything you need to know about his ability to close effectively for business.

If the candidate passes the phone screen and you decide to give the candidate a face-to-face interview, my best advice is this: Don’t “blue-sky” the job. When it comes to hiring good salespeople it is a buyer’s market. This puts you in the position of feeling like you have to sell candidates on the job. During job interviews we often spend more time trying to convince applicants to work for us than we do in finding out their true sales grit. Don’t do this.

Not only should you not blue-sky the job, I want you to let the applicants know how tough it’s going to be. Ask them how they plan to start working the territory. Only candidates who talk about making cold calls will actually make them. For every answer you get ask three more tough questions behind it. When they tell they are good at some aspect of selling, ask for specific examples and descriptions of situations as to what they actually did. It’s easy to say that you built a million dollar territory from scratch, it’s not as easy to explain how you did it.

Uncover enough details to ascertain if there is truth and reality behind their initial answer. By putting pressure on the sales candidates in the interview process, you can determine if they will roll over or actually assert themselves when face-to-face or on the phone with a prospect.

When challenging sales candidates, take note of whether they stay in control or whether they let you dictate the process. Good salespeople will have an agenda and will take you through a qualifying process similar to what they would do with a prospect. At the same time they will make you feel as if your agenda is being met.

Open your interview by telling the candidate that you have about an hour of work to do and only 20 minutes to get it done. Start by asking them to tell you about yourself and they want the position. Here is a list of some of the best questions you can ask throughout the interview process.

Regarding Their Sales Experience:

• The ad said you needed to be ________. How do I know you are? (Challenge them.)
• How do I know that’s true?

Regarding Their Technical Experience:

• What is your experience in ________? (Technical or product experience.)
• Ask a technical question based on their knowledge level.

Regarding How They Make Decisions (Only decisive people can get others to make decisions):

• At the end of the interview today, if I offered you the position, would you be able to say yes or no, assuming you knew all there is to know about the job?
• What was your last major purchase (except auto or home)? Can you explain to me how you made your final decision to buy? Why did you do it that way?

Uncovering Their Level of Commitment:

• How have you overcome major obstacles in your life in the past?
• What changes did you need to make to accomplish that?

Uncovering Their Goal Orientation:

• What are some of your life goals? Why that goal?
• How are you doing in terms of achieving it?
• What kinds of rewards are most satisfying to you?

Uncovering Their Competitiveness:

• Give me an example of when it was necessary to reach a goal in a short period of time and how you were able to achieve it.
• How smart are you compared to your peers?
• What has been your highest and lowest rankings in your current / last sales position compared to the rest of the sales force?

Uncovering Their Resiliency:

• How do you handle objections?
• Tell me about a time when all seemed lost in an important sale. What did you do to weather the crisis?
• Tell me about your most crushing failure.
• Give me a specific example of a time you were rejected and how you handled it.
• All of us have failed to meet a quota at one point or another. When you don’t meet your goals, how do you handle it?

Uncovering their Expectations Concerning Monetary Rewards:

• What was the most money you ever made in one year? When was that?
• What about last year?
• What is expected this year? What is an average year?
• How comfortable are you with that? (You are watching how they handle the questions and if they are in your income range.)

Regarding their feelings about Prospecting:

• How do you plan to establish or build a strong territory/client base?
• Aren’t there any better ways than that?
• What else would you do?
• Anything else? (Look for creativity and things that match your business.)
• What special skills or techniques are necessary to be successful over the telephone?
• When getting through to a sales prospect for the first time on the phone, what roadblocks can you expect the clerical staff to put in your way and how do you handle them?
• How do you go about gathering names of new contacts on the telephone?
• What will you do in the first 30 – 60 – 90 days if I were to hire you?

Uncovering Their Sales Maturity:

• Why do people “buy” a product or service?
• What steps are involved in selling your product?
• How long does it typically take you from initial contact to close the sale?
• How do you turn an occasional buyer into a regular buyer?
• How large a client base do you need to maintain to keep sales on an even keel?
• Describe a typical day.
• How do you plan your day? Why is it important to prioritize?
• How much time do you spend doing paperwork and other non-selling activities?
• What kind of people do you like to sell to?
• What do you dislike about most sales?

Uncovering Their Closing Ability:

• How do I know you could close a sale?
• I’m still not convinced.
• Do you have any questions for me? (Look to see whether (s)he takes control at this point and asks for the job or what the next step is.)

The things you are looking for in salespeople are:

• Successful track record.
• Willing to commit for long term.
• Willing to invest in themselves.
• Stable personal life.
• Coachable attitude.

The things you must be willing to do to make salespeople successful are:

• Invest in them.
• Share the vision.
• Don’t ask them to do anything you haven’t done yourself.
• Get to know their personal goals and their families.
• Don’t make it too easy (stretch them), but find a way to make them win.

If you reach the point where you are considering making an offer, ask the candidate about their total compensation needs. Historical information about the amount the candidate earned from base salary vs. commissions is important. I would even request a copy of the candidate’s last W-2. This is often quite revealing.

Too often business owners and sales executives find that newly hired salespeople fail to live up to their expectations even when these salespeople endured a rigorous interview process, and in many cases, they receive specific skills training after they begin their jobs. They know what they are supposed to do, but they can’t seem to pull it off; at least not to the level at they were expected to.

So why do they fail? It’s often because they lack the crucial elements for success. Or it’s because they lack the specific mental abilities, beliefs and habits needed to execute the skills they have been taught. And why doesn’t this come out in the interview process? It’s because experienced salespeople know the right answers to an interviewers questions and they are able to charm someone into liking them. Even the best interviewer finds it difficult to uncover the hidden weaknesses that will impede a salesperson’s performance. The solution is to test a sales candidate prior to hiring using a rigorous, scientifically proven, psychometric instrument that is directly connected to a candidate’s specific job profile.

Psychometric Testing

First, you need to understand what a psychometric test is and is not. It is not a personality test, such as DISC, the Meyers-Briggs assessment or Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Although these assessments can be helpful in terms of understanding how an employee is likely to behave in specific situations and how well they will work with their fellow employees, they are not predictive of whether a person can and will sell.

A psychometric test used in the context of hiring must be predictive. When a well-developed, validated psychometric assessment is integrated into the sales hiring process, it provides an objective decision-making tool and the likelihood of finding a good sales candidate increases dramatically. The right sales candidate assessment can calculate a candidate’s fitness for a particular role far better than any subjective assessment or interview ever will.

The test must be scientifically sound and sales-specific. There are many firms that offer this type of testing, but very few that have the predictive validity and proven results for hiring salespeople. Salespeople are different. Choose a firm that has partnered with statisticians and psychologists to develop reliable assessments that are specific to the sales arena. Reputable firms also will ensure that their tests fully comply with Equal Employment Opportunity laws and case precedents.

In addition, make sure that the assessment is tailored to fit the position you are hoping to fill. An assessment developed for an inside sales position will differ from one created for a strategic account manager or for a business development specialist.

Traits versus Skills

When implementing psychometric testing in a sales hiring process, it’s important to understand the differences between traits and skills. Traits are innate capabilities or strengths that make up a salesperson’s DNA. While skills can be improved through training, traits require more than training. Traits require a concentrated effort over an extended period of time. Sometimes it takes a life-altering event to get someone to change.

For example, almost everyone would agree that a salesperson must be motivated enough to accomplish the objectives set forth in his or her job profile. However, a person’s level of motivation is not a skill that can be trained. An individual’s motivation level is an inherent trait that already exists in varying degrees from person-to-person. An organization or sales manager’s ability to influence this trait is limited.

This is why the job profile must deal in traits, and it must be wholly different from the job description or the list of job skills necessary for the role. Hire for traits, and train for skills. It is very important to understand that salespeople with the right mix of traits or strengths but few skills will always outperform salespeople with good skills but a limited number of strengths.

The psychometric assessment you use must measure the traits that are required to execute a specific job profile. The question is not so much whether a candidate has the requisite skills but whether they can execute these skills when performing the duties required by the job.

Hire Slowly, Fire Quickly

How often do sales managers discover that their new hires are inadequate only after months of training? Psychometric testing helps eliminate these costly mistakes. Sales managers should hire slowly and fire quickly. Unfortunately, most sales managers do the opposite. They hire quickly and spend a multitude of resources attempting to train people who lack the traits needed for their roles. Consider the costs of training versus the costs of using a psychometric test. If you haven’t made a hiring mistake without one you are either clairvoyant or you just got lucky. It will happen to eventually.